The Malta Independent on Sunday
San Ġiljan a point away from securing the title
Waterpolo Bank of Valletta leagues Marsaskala’s title aspirations receive setback
other action, in which Joseph Galea scored from a tight angle.
The three-goal advantage seemed to change the rhythm of the game, as the leaders were searching to kill the game, and did so by opening up a five goal advantage, a margin that they kept till the end of the session. Marko Orlovic continued to rotate his team, but San Ġiljan kept the same rhythm as they did in the previous sessions to continue increasing their advantage.
But even the players have some responsibility to shoulder, especially their foreigner Guillermo Molina, who was almost absent from the game.
Two goals from Slobodan Nikic, Andrea Bianchi and Nicky Paris gave Exiles a deserved 4-0 win as Sliema were fragile in defence and powerless in attack.
Sliema improved in the second session and they were rotating the ball better in attack scoring twice to reduce the deficit to three goals after Nikic scored between them.
Bogdan Rath’s team entered the game in the beginning of the third session with a goal by Nicholas Bugelli, but Exiles made sure to stay ahead with another two goals. Jerome Gabarretta scored his first goal of the game and scored his second just before the end of the session, again reducing the deficit to two goals.
As the win was still to be decided, a reaction from Sliema to turn a defeat into victory like last Wednesday’s game was expected, but after Gabarretta scored his third consecutive goal, Exiles scored twice from Sullivan and Nikic, while Michele Stellini made it 10-6 with less than two minutes.
Gabarretta scored his fourth of the game, but Benji Lanzon made sure that Exiles has the last laugh in the game. Sliema:
M’Skala Transcripta Otters Nivea (3-4), (2-3), (3-0), (1-4) 9 11
A tough blow for Marsaskala’s title aspirations as they suffered their third defeat of the league, losing 11-9 to Otters Nivea.
In fact, this was the second defeat against the Gozitan team, as they lost in the second round - also with a two-goal margin - and now they are six points behind leaders Marsaxlokk with a game more and with only three games left.
Otters looked sharper in their play and, except for the third session, they were better than their opponents, they deserved the win as their youngsters alongside veteran Charlie Zammit and their foreigner Marko Jelaka continued to produce positive waterpolo, also taking advantage of the missed opportunities by Marsaskala.
Otters had to recover from a 3-1 deficit in the first session, and did so by scoring three goals from Luke Hyzler, Edward Meli and Charlie Zammit, ending the session 4-3 in front. Their superiority at that moment resulted in a clear edge over their opponents as they netted three consecutive goals from left-handed Luke Hyzler and a brace by Edward Meli to open up a 7-3 lead.
Marsaskala were able to react and scored twice from Vlahovic and Duncan Cassar to reduce the deficit to two goals. Their comeback became successful after the break as they scored three times with no reply to take the lead for the second time in the match with only a session to spare.
Andrija Vlahovic even managed to make the score 9-7, but from then onwards, the game had another twist, as Otters were more composed in their attacks and it was no surprise that they equalised with two goals from Edward Meli and Michael Borg Millo.
The game was up for grabs with only a few minutes left, and it was time for Marko Jelaka to shine as he scored twice in a vital moment to seal the three points for the Gozitans. Marsaskala: Otters: Referees:
Premier League
San Giljan Neptunes Sliema Sirens Exiles Valletta
First division
Marsaxlokk Marsascala Otters Birzebbuga Ta’ Xbiex Today PW D L F A Pts 11 11 0 0 134 68 33 10 604 96 84 18 11 6 0 5 104 95 18 10 424 78 71 14 11 227 77 113 8 11 029 73 131 2 PW D 8 7 0 9 5 0 9 3 2 8 3 1 8 1 1 L F A Pts 1 74 51 21 4 82 63 15 4 76 79 11 4 68 65 10 6 35 77 4